US President Barack Obama has dashed the Democrats’ hopes of re-election after his approval rating hit the lowest since he took office in 2009.

The results of a new Gallup poll released on Friday found Obama’s job approval rating down at 41 percent, AFP reported.

The figure showed a drop of six percentage points from the group’s prior poll.

Gallup said the latest quarterly poll results showed Obama’s rating nearly four points below his previous low of 45 percent during his seventh quarter in office.

The pollster said Obama’s rating is the second weakest on record in the 11th quarter of a presidency, after former President Jimmy Carter’s 31 percent, before he lost the re-election.

However, the prospect of Obama’s re-election will be determined in the coming months, as Gallup analysis shows that an incumbent president’s 12th and 13th quarter averages give a strong indication whether he will win a second term.

According to Gallup, Obama’s approval rating from July 20 to October 19 ranged between 38 percent and 43 percent except for a few days.

The period in question saw the standoff over the federal debt ceiling in late July and early August, followed by a nosedive of the stock market and a first-ever downgrade of the US credit rating by Standard and Poor’s.